Why do we dream

A. Most experts would say that it allows your brain to rejuvenate and recharge. However, dreaming is a very mysterious thing and experts have had differing theories...

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Q. Such as
A. Well, Sigmund Freud, for example, believed that dreams revealed our inner selves. He claimed that we could get in touch with our unconscious desires and fears simply by interpreting them. His followers created dream 'dictionaries' to explain the symbolism of dreams. For example, dreaming that you have no clothes on is a sign that you are feeling vulnerable; flying shows that you want to escape a situation, and so on...

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Q. What about now
A. Recent theories include: dreaming is your brain's way of extracting the valuable information it has gathered during the day; dreaming is your brain's way of getting rid of useless information it has gathered during the day; dreaming results from the brain staying active but without outside stimulus. And more recently, experts are beginning to believe that our dreams really are trying to tell us something.

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Q. Sounds spooky - how does that work
A. Well, some dream experts believe that our dreams bring messages from the unconscious to the conscious mind, and that these can be interpreted. If you wake up from a dream, for example, it's your unconscious mind trying to communicate with you - telling you about something you need to pay attention to or some action you need to take.

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Q. Such as flying naked
A. Well, if that's what you're after... Dr Mark Solms, who is researching the brain mechanisms of dreaming at the department of neurosurgery at the Royal London Hospital, explained how our dreams could have meaning. When we sleep, he said, we only have access to four parts of the brain, and these deal with emotions, personal memories, motivations (such as hunger, reproduction and survival) and vision.

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Q. How does that work
A. For a start, the visual part works like a TV screen so you can watch the dream unfold. Then the emotional bit works with the personal history and motivation areas to show you what is happening in your life and how you feel about it.

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Q. That sounds reasonable, so why do we dream that we snog our old history teachers
A. That happens because the rational part of the brain, which knows you would never do such a thing in a million years, switches off when you dream. As a result, your emotions are uncensored and anything can - and will - happen.

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By Sheena Miller

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